| Objective To systematically review the research status, knowledge structure, collaboration network, and cutting-edge developments in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for chronic heart failure from 2015 to 2025, providing a reference basis for TCM research in treating chronic heart failure. Methods Based on China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) as the data source, relevant literature on TCM treatment for chronic heart failure from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2025, was retrieved. CiteSpace was used to analyze the co-occurrence, clustering, timelines, and burst detection of institutions, authors, and keywords in the included literature. Results A total of 4,390 articles were included, showing a fluctuating upward trend in publication volume from 2015 to 2025. The collaboration network among institutions had low density, with core institutions primarily consisting of traditional Chinese medicine universities and their affiliated hospitals, failing to form a broad collaborative network. Author collaboration exhibited a dispersed pattern, forming a few teams centered around core figures such as Zhang Yan, Hu Zhixi, and Zhu Mingjun. Co-occurrence and clustering analysis of keywords revealed research focused on modules such as “Qi deficiency and blood stasis,” “tonifying Qi and warming Yang,” “cardiac function,” and “quality of life,” with distinct clustering structures. Timeline and burst detection analysis indicated that keywords with high burst intensity in recent years included “data mining,” “inflammatory response,” “gut microbiota,” “TCM syndrome types,” and “classical prescriptions.” Research hotspots have gradually shifted from early clinical observations and syndrome differentiation to areas like data mining, signaling pathways, inflammatory responses, gut microbiota, and Baduanjin. Conclusion TCM research on chronic heart failure is at a critical stage of transitioning from clinical experience summarization to mechanism exploration, data-driven approaches, and evidence-based integration. Future efforts should strengthen cross-institutional and cross-team collaboration, deepen the connection between basic and clinical research, and promote the modernization and precision of TCM. |